Masters of cinema are not always necessarily masters of Horror, as "Histories Ordinaires" aka. "Spirits Of The Dead" of 1968 proves. This is Poe-based anthology of three parts, directed by Roger Vadim, Louis Malle and Frederico Fellini. All great directors of course, but for a Horror fan it becomes obvious immediately that they were way more biased on the introduction of imaginative artistic elements than on the development of eeriness and suspense. And while the film is certainly not bad, and doubtlessly has its great moments, it sadly lacks the creepy atmosphere and genuine scariness that made other Poe-adaptations, such as Roger Corman's films (starring Vincent Price) such a delight. It may result from ignorance towards the Horror genre, or have other reasons, but while "Spirits Of The Dead" looks good at first, it not a very good Horror film, first and foremost as it simply will not scare the viewer, and furthermore because the atmosphere is simply not eerie enough to do the writings of the great Edgar Allan Poe justice.
The first story, "Metzengerstein", directed by Roger Vadim, stars young Jane Fonda as the beautiful, but cold-hearted Countess Frederica, who lives a life of decadence until she suddenly falls for her cousin, the nature-loving Baron Wilhelm (Peter Fonda). After refusing Frederica, Wilhelm accidentally dies in an arson ordered by her, leaving her devastated and strangely obsessed with a black stallion... The first chapter in the anthology offers some impressive photography, very good performances, and loads of sexual undertones. Yet it cannot fully convince, as the script is not very elaborate, and the whole thing makes little sense. Neither is there a real climax.
The second story, "William Williamson", directed by Louis Malle, is quite a bit creepier, but, then again, it could have been even a lot better. Alain Delon plays William Williamson, a despicable and sadistic man, whose evil deeds are promptly uncovered by a masked Doppelgänger of the same name. Storywise, this second story, which also stars young Brigitte Bardot as a sexy gambling lady, is arguably the best of the three, and it is also very good in terms of photography. Still, it is not really scary.
The third and last story, "Toby Dammit", directed by Frederico Fellini, is the most frequently praised of the three, and it is indeed recommendable, simply for Terence Stamp's terrific performance as the eponymous character. Stamp plays Toby Dammit, a celebrated British actor with a weakness for alcohol, cynicism ad scandals, who tormented by the recurring vision of an eerie girl. When he is invited to the 'Italian Oscars' as an honorary guest, his insanity overwhelms... The third story is primarily recommended for its leading man. Stamp is a brilliant actor, and he really proves his great talent here, as I can not imagine anybody else to fit the role as Stamp does. Stamp's performance, however, is the episode's saving grace, as the story makes little sense and has even less to do with Poe. Fellini was obviously more focused on accentuating his own visual and artistic talent rather than to focus on Poe's writings, eeriness or suspense. All three episodes are narrated in an eerie voice in the French language version, which I saw. Apparently the English language version is narrated by Vincent Price, which makes it interesting to me as Pice is my favorite actor.
Overall, "Spirits Of The Dead" is certainly no bad film, and probably even something every true Horror fan should give a try at least, but it is neither a great Horror flick nor a great piece of art in other respects. Fellini, Malle and Vadim deserve their reputations as masters of cinema, yet one might argue that they should leave the Horror genre to the pros. If you want to see great Poe-based cinema I recommend films such as Roger Corman's entire brilliant Poe-cycle (starring Vincent Price) as well as Sergio Martino's Giallo-masterpiece "Your Vice Is A Locked Room And Only I Have The Key" instead. In terms of eerie Gothic atmosphere, even Fellini, Malle and Vadim can never reach the greatness of Horror masters such as Corman, Mario Bava or Antonio Margheriti. This "Spirits Of The Dead" is recommendable, but it is not great Gothic cinema, in my opinion.
The first story, "Metzengerstein", directed by Roger Vadim, stars young Jane Fonda as the beautiful, but cold-hearted Countess Frederica, who lives a life of decadence until she suddenly falls for her cousin, the nature-loving Baron Wilhelm (Peter Fonda). After refusing Frederica, Wilhelm accidentally dies in an arson ordered by her, leaving her devastated and strangely obsessed with a black stallion... The first chapter in the anthology offers some impressive photography, very good performances, and loads of sexual undertones. Yet it cannot fully convince, as the script is not very elaborate, and the whole thing makes little sense. Neither is there a real climax.
The second story, "William Williamson", directed by Louis Malle, is quite a bit creepier, but, then again, it could have been even a lot better. Alain Delon plays William Williamson, a despicable and sadistic man, whose evil deeds are promptly uncovered by a masked Doppelgänger of the same name. Storywise, this second story, which also stars young Brigitte Bardot as a sexy gambling lady, is arguably the best of the three, and it is also very good in terms of photography. Still, it is not really scary.
The third and last story, "Toby Dammit", directed by Frederico Fellini, is the most frequently praised of the three, and it is indeed recommendable, simply for Terence Stamp's terrific performance as the eponymous character. Stamp plays Toby Dammit, a celebrated British actor with a weakness for alcohol, cynicism ad scandals, who tormented by the recurring vision of an eerie girl. When he is invited to the 'Italian Oscars' as an honorary guest, his insanity overwhelms... The third story is primarily recommended for its leading man. Stamp is a brilliant actor, and he really proves his great talent here, as I can not imagine anybody else to fit the role as Stamp does. Stamp's performance, however, is the episode's saving grace, as the story makes little sense and has even less to do with Poe. Fellini was obviously more focused on accentuating his own visual and artistic talent rather than to focus on Poe's writings, eeriness or suspense. All three episodes are narrated in an eerie voice in the French language version, which I saw. Apparently the English language version is narrated by Vincent Price, which makes it interesting to me as Pice is my favorite actor.
Overall, "Spirits Of The Dead" is certainly no bad film, and probably even something every true Horror fan should give a try at least, but it is neither a great Horror flick nor a great piece of art in other respects. Fellini, Malle and Vadim deserve their reputations as masters of cinema, yet one might argue that they should leave the Horror genre to the pros. If you want to see great Poe-based cinema I recommend films such as Roger Corman's entire brilliant Poe-cycle (starring Vincent Price) as well as Sergio Martino's Giallo-masterpiece "Your Vice Is A Locked Room And Only I Have The Key" instead. In terms of eerie Gothic atmosphere, even Fellini, Malle and Vadim can never reach the greatness of Horror masters such as Corman, Mario Bava or Antonio Margheriti. This "Spirits Of The Dead" is recommendable, but it is not great Gothic cinema, in my opinion.